Seed capital confirmed in North Dakota

Nearly 200 investors invested a minimum of $15,000 each in the seed capital phase. More than 90 percent are farmers, most from North Dakota, western Minnesota and South Dakota. A few are from Iowa and Nebraska.

Northern Plains Nitrogen remains optimistic that the proposed plant will open in 2017, Anderson says.

Environmental approval for IFFCO Canada

The Becancour, QB, brownfield plant cleared a hurdle when the BAPE inquiry commission concluded that the project would be of net benefit to the environment. [my rough translation from the French:]

It may seem paradoxical to approve this project from an environmental point of view. The plant will encroach on wetlands, it will be one of the fifteen worst greenhouse gas emitting plants in Quebec, and it will contribute to accentuating the degradation of air quality. However, various considerations led the inquiry commission to believe that the project would result in a gain for the environment …

Once the plant is in operation, the urea produced there will have cradle-to-warehouse greenhouse gas emissions that are 30% lower than the existing situation, which is urea imported into Quebec.

EuroChem purchases land in Louisiana

This isn’t particularly significant: EuroChem is looking at two sites for its Louisiana greenfield and wants to keep its options open while it decides whether to build the plant or not. The site in Iberville had alternative buyers and the state needed to sell now, so EuroChem bought the 2,200 acres for $12 million. EuroChem released its 2013 annual report yesterday with scant mention of the potential $1.5 billion greenfield, except to say: